The former Marine accused of putting a homeless man in a fatal chokehold has been named by the Marine Corps as Daniel J. Penny.
Jordan Neely, who was a well known face on the New York Metro, died after appearing to be choked by Mr Penny.
In the moments before the fatal incident on Monday afternoon, Mr Neely, a 30-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator, was yelling at other passengers that he was hungry and ready to die.
Both Mr Neely and the man who is accused of putting him in the fatal chokehold were riding the F train heading towards Broadway Lafayette station in New York.
The city’s medical examiner confirmed his death has been ruled as homicide by way of pressure to the neck. He reportedly had autism and schizophrenia.
A Marine Corps spokesperson confirmed Mr Penny's identity.
He served as a sergeant in the Marines but left the service in June 2021 after four years. During that time he received seven medals, MailOnline reports.
The homeless man was reportedly suffering from a mental health episode and had been making threats and harassing passengers, according to police.
During his outbursts, he was placed into a reported 15-minute-long headlock by the 24-year-old Mr Penny until the train stopped at Broadway-Lafayette.
However, on arrival Mr Neely, was unconscious and later pronounced dead in hospital.
Juan Alberto Vazquez, a journalist who captured the incident, told the New York Post Mr Neely had been complaining of hunger and thirst but had not physically hit anyone.
Mr Neely reportedly yelled: "I don’t have food, I don’t have a drink, I’m fed up. I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison. I’m ready to die."
The reporter said the former marine went over to Mr Neely after he chucked his jacket to the floor.
In the disturbing video, Mr Neely was seen on the subway floor with the man's arm around his neck while a second man holds his arms and a third passenger holds his shoulders down.
As he tries to free himself the victim starts to lose consciousness.
When emergency services arrived he was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The marine was taken into custody by New York Police Department officers and released without charges.
The decision to release the marine has been slammed by politicians, protestors and civil rights advocates.
Mr Neely's death has sparked huge outrage with many believing he was suffering from a mental health episode and was just in search for food.
Protestors believe he was not a threat to other passengers, including New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who called the man's death a "murder."
She wrote on Twitter : "Jordan Neely was murdered. But [because] Jordan was houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarise itself while many in power demonise the poor, the murderer gets protected [with] passive headlines [and] no charges. It's disgusting."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued a statement on social media but was slammed for refusing to say if the death was a "murder."
He said: "Any loss of life is tragic. There’s a lot we don’t know about what happened here, so I’m going to refrain from commenting further."
